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Show accord is heartening The apparent accord this week over the procedures proced-ures involved in going ah-ead with the long-sought Book Cliffs road, and with the route to be used, is heartening. For the first time in the nearly four-year history cf the endeavor, almost all parties involved were- present pres-ent for a tour of the country last Saturday, including officers in charge of the Utah National Guard's two engineer batalions, who indicated the project, including includ-ing some ten to fifteen miles of entirely new road, was within their summer encampment capabilities. Now all that remains is the firming up of rights of way, preliminary survey work and agreements with the State of Utah r.nd Federal government over lands involved, which will take a good deal of time and a' mountain of paper work, but should involve little in the way of serious difficulty. All this should be completed, and ready for midsummer mid-summer work by the more than one thousand Utah National Guardsmen who make up the two engineer units. Utahns should be appreciative- of the work of the National Guard on projects such as the Book Cliffs road- Over the past number of years, the Guard has; constructed a number of excellent scenic and utility roadways, which would never have been constructed if local governmental units such as county and state had been left to undertake them alone. Not only are the units doing lasting, worthwhile gwork, they are gaining valuable-experience, not only in construction, but in logistics. The task merely of supplying one- thousand men with materials, gasoline and food at their isolated Book Cliffs camp will be major. With crossed fingers we will anxiously await next July. A shorter route between scenic southeastern Utah and the Uintah Basin ihas been a dream, for many years. Perhaps now it will become- reality. |
